Ketan Banjara's living room isn't cluttered with remote controls. To shush the music, he simply holds a finger up to his lips. And when he gets up from the couch and leaves the room, his TV screen pauses automatically.

Banjara is a cofounder of PredictGaze, a startup that combines gaze detection, gesture recognition, and facial-feature recognition to create more natural ways to control everything from your TV to your car.

While many people are just getting their hands on their first touch-screen gadget, PredictGaze is one of a slew of companies betting that touch-free controls will be the next big thing. With front-facing cameras being embedded in all sorts of gadgets, it's n… Continue reading...

A group of organizers called "Occupy Sandy" have registered for a wedding on Amazon -- except no one's getting married.

The group of Brooklyn residents have registered for a wide array of supplies to be donated to victims of Hurricane Sandy, using Amazon's tool for couples planning weddings. The group requests that gifts be shipped to Brooklyn's Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew, from where the volunteers will distribute the items.

Instead of china patterns and guest towels, there are flashlights, generators and diapers. Similar to other registries, however, the items are divided into "love to have," "like to have" and "nice to have." The "cou… Continue reading...

Lets get down to brass tacks. Built into this car (which, despite its concept label, will be a made-to-order version of the ultra-upscale Mulsanne) you've got:

Built-in mobile Wi-Fi.

Two iPads and keyboards that fold up from a tray table. It should be noted that, in this context, they feel and work more like super-slim laptops that are built into the car. The tray tables electronically fold out for maximum futuristic-ness.

A 15.6-inch high-def TV screen that is, as the company's marketing material puts it, "backed by the processing power of both an onboard hard drive and an Apple Mac c… Continue reading...

Apple's Lightning connector is the new power connector used in the latest generation of iPod, iPad and iPhone devices. It replaced Apple's previous 30-pin dock connector, and is incompatible with cables and devices created for that connector.

Most other smartphones on the market use the standardized Micro USB connector, and in… Continue reading...

Awakening: The Art of Halo 4

For all the fangirls and boys who have yet to snap up Halo 4 since its Tuesday launch, here's something to whet your gaming appetite: never-before seen concept art, sketches and character designs from the first-person shooter.

We have the world exclusive look at Awakening: The Art of Halo 4, which details the process behind creating the Halo universe -- everything from its characters to its locations.

The book features concept art that guided Halo 4's design team, providing "the basis upon which the game itself is made," editor Paul Davies told Mashable in an email.

Created by artists at video-game developer 343 Industries, they include early ideas that didn't even make it into the… Continue reading...

Apple may drop Intel chips from Mac computers, in favor of chips similar to the ones used in the iPad and iPhone, sources say.

According to a Bloomberg report, Apple's engineers think its own chips will one day be powerful enough to run laptop and desktop computers, but this change likely won't happen in the next few years.

Apple's 2005 switch from PowerPC processors to Intel x86 processors was one of the most surprising moves that year, as the Cupertino, Calif. company has long maintained that PowerPC processors are better than Intel's.

But it's currently tablets and smartphones, which use tiny, low-power chips, that are dictating where the industry is heading. Apple is k… Continue reading...

In the state that is likely to decide the leader of the free world Tuesday, an 11th hour "experimental software patch" is causing consternation, confusion and a lawsuit.

Ohio, regarded as the "tipping point" swing state in Governor Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama's quest for 270 electoral votes Tuesday, uses electronic voting machines. A large portion are provided by ES&S, the nation's largest e-voting system manufacturer.

Late last week, a leaked work order revealed that John Husted, Ohio's secretary of state, had installed something called EXP on central tabulation machines in 39 of Ohio's 88 counties. EXP is either an "experimental software patch", according t… Continue reading...

Created by Paris-based artist Marie-Virginie Berbet, the pod provides 10-, 15- and 20-minute nap sequences, and incorporates sound and light technology that aids sleep. At the end of each sequence, a blue light wakes users "in an energized manner."

But the 31-year-old, whose right leg is amputated, had help from a neural-controlled prosthetic leg. The device, which has a powered knee and ankle, can anticipate Vawkter's actions. For example, when he pushes on the leg to stand up, it "reads his intent," and pushes back, propelling him up, according to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

"One of the biggest difference(s) for me is being able to take stairs step-over-step like everyone else," Vawter said in a s… Continue reading...

Looking for a way to rock out while rocking the baby to sleep? We've got the chair for you.

Meet iRock, a rocking chair with a built-in iPad dock and speakers for listening to tunes and surfing the web, while rocking your day away -- literally.

The fun doesn't stop there. A generator on the chair harnesses the rocking movement, and transforms it into power. A 60-minute rocking session, for instance, is enough to charge an iPad 3 to 35%. You can also use the chair to charge any of your other Apple devices, including the iPhone 5 and the newly launched iPad mini.

A group of students at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has created a wearable communication jacket for first responders in emergency situations.

Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians, for example, need to communicate with each other in an emergency, but smartphones are uniquely unsuited to the task. The mobile phone requires both hands and the attention of the person holding it - a liability when you're dodging hazards.

"Crews therefore need devices with a much simpler user interface. That was the basic idea behind making the jackets," says Babak Farshchian of SINTEF ICT, a research organization in Norway.… Continue reading...

YouTube dethroned Facebook as the hottest tech brand in the social media world last week, according to data aggregator Starcount.

Another tech giant, Google, ranked third; its high placement is due to the many views on its YouTube channel, likely driven by the launch of the new Nexus lineup. Yahoo also had a good week, gaining three positions, thanks to almost 230,000 new Facebook fans.

Windows also benefited from the recent debut of its newest tablet, the Surface, which has received positive reviews.

Many political campaigns in this current election have a nifty "donate now!" button on their websites. While they're convenient for the candidates, it's not clear if these buttons are secure for the donors.

Websites and retailers who collect credit-card numbers, both online and offline, are subject to rules regarding how the financial data is stored.

Those rules are laid down and enforced by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, commonly referred to as PCI, a global body that won't hesitate to yank the credentials of any organization not in compliance.

However, campaign websites are generally not considered retailers, and are usually transitory in nature, not las… Continue reading...

Burned fingertips and singed hands are no fun, but sometimes incurring those minor injuries are unavoidable when we're lighting candles or barbecue grills -- especially with small lighters or matches.

The Zippo Flex Neck Utility Lighter ($19.95) is a new product from the Zippo Manufacturing Company that's bigger than the traditional Zippo windproof lighter. It looks like a small torch you might use in the kitchen to caramelize creme brulee, but it has a lot more dexterity. The movable neck can twist in various directions to light candles deep in hurricane vases, or light your broiler, hot water heaters, fireplaces and other areas that are hard to reach with matches or even typical lo… Continue reading...

Yes, the question of who is going to occupy the White House for the next four years is vital to our nation and our planet. But just as important, for those watching on election night, is this: When can you go to bed?

The closer the election is, the more likely it is that states are going to be too close to call for a significant portion of the night -- and that the networks are going to be wary of calling them early. Given the current state of the polls, we could be in for a very long wait before either candidate gets 270 electoral votes.

NowThisNews -- the new news-focused startup from Huffington Post co-founder Ken Lerer -- just launched its iOS app and, with it, a brand new way to watch and share the news.

The startup's goal is to disrupt the cable news industry. It's tactic is to create news content that was designed to be shared and experienced through mobile. Putting news clips on mobile devices isn't difficult. Creating content specifically for mobile devices and audiences, however, is.

NowThisNews started creating video content in earnest last month. Until now, its content has spread through its various social channels -- NTN has accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr -- as well as a video partnership with… Continue reading...

Broadcasting live Monday in a Google+ Hangout, members of punk rock band Bad Religion revealed the name and release date of their 16th studio album, True North, and unleashed a series of F-bombs in the process.

Why the expletive? "F**k You" is the name of that album's first single. First, front man Greg Graffin blurted the title, followed by drummer Brooks Wackerman and guitarist Brian Baker.

Bad Religion also answered fans' questions in the 27-minute Hangout, which you can watch in the above video.

In an announcement made today, Tumblr CEO and founder David Karp confirmed that the site now collects 20 billion pageviews a month, up from about 13 billion in September, GigaOMreported.

"This started pretty modestly as something I wanted for myself," Karp told GigaOM. "I remember very vividly that moment where I was like, it wouldn’t be much more work to add a column to the database that [asked] which user posted this post and maybe make it something other people can use."

The election is finally here -- after tomorrow, the candidates' online ads that have chased you around the Internet will disappear. In review of the months spent campaigning and advertising, an infographic from ReTargeter shows exactly how much each campaign spent on online ads compared to the 2008 election. The numbers are staggering.

Instagram Profile

Earlier today, Instagram started rolling out new web profile pages for its users. The profiles bear a striking resemblance to Facebook Timeline and act as a great way to explore the digital snapshots of Instagram brands and users.

Profiles won't be rolled out to all users until later this week but Mashable got early access and decided to take the new profile setup for a spin. Looking at my own profile page, I couldn't help but be struck by how nice it was to have the ability to browse through my past photos from the comfort of my web browser.

The top header is a rotating array of photos and clicking on any photo opens up a modal view similar to the existing standalone photo view. From… Continue reading...

Regardless of who wins this election, two things are guaranteed: the winner's victory speech will be accompanied by thunderous applause from supporters and a signature song will play over the speakers as he walks onstage. In 2008, Barack Obama's victory was scored to "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder… Continue reading...

When reading an opinion or editorial you either agree with its stand or not. But are you basing your judgements off of the subject matter, or is it the font? Researchers at the University of Illinois found that a harder-to-read typeface slows readers down and reduces preconceived political bias.

The study looked at reader fluency and how easily a reader can digest information. When presented with a document in normal typeface, liberals and conservatives took a definitive stance on either side. But when shown a document in a harder-to-read typeface their stances were more moderate when engagi… Continue reading...

Facebook is hoping their site can guide people in the United States to the polls this Election Day. The social network has built a polling place locator tool, so on Tuesday, users can easily figure out where to head to cast a ballot.

The map is already live at Facebook's U.S. Politics page, but will be available at the top of news feeds on Election Day.

Like past elections, Facebook will feature a header at the top of the page reminding users it is Election Day, and allow them to click on an "I voted" button that will show photos of their friends who have also clicked on the button. When a Facebook user clicks on the "I voted" button, the locator map will become available for the… Continue reading...